Knowing
by Sulky Shadow
Summary: There's an empty chasm in his chest that he can't get rid of. It's all he ever feels, this nothingness, and he knows it's all he ever will.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts. All characters go to their respectful owners. I only own this story.

* * *

**Knowing**

The first thing he was aware of was the feeling of emptiness. His mind felt like it was in a fog—one that was too thick to see even two feet in front of him. It was almost as if he had fallen into a chasm and was still waiting to hit the bottom. His surroundings looked familiar, but trying to think of the reasoning behind _why_ it would be familiar never crossed his befuddled mind. Were the shadows moving? He looked at them with a faint feeling of curiosity, and, for a moment, everything became a bit sharper. He was able to hear the man in front of him say that his name was Vanitas, and he heard himself respond, but after he lost interest in the shadows, everything became fuzzy again.

In some part of his mind, Vanitas found himself thinking that the shadows had seemed a bit confused as well. It was a strange thought, but that odd feeling of curiosity stirred again, and everything began to focus once more. So he held onto that feeling and desperately searched for other topics that he could ponder over. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason he didn't like that feeling the fog brought with it—or didn't bring with it. It was more empty than anything.

His eyes fell across a boy lying on the ground. His hair was covered in dust, Vanitas noted absentmindedly. But his thoughts didn't get much farther than that, because the mist had begun to cloud his thoughts again, and Vanitas couldn't remember what he was thinking about. Not that he could find himself caring, though.

A strong hand suddenly grabbed his neck and threw him forward. Anger flared in the back of Vanitas' mind, and he was able to clearly make out each of the grains of sand that were inches from his face. Somewhere behind him a voice growled at him to pay attention, but Vanitas was too fascinated by the discovery of dirt. Had it always been this color? A kick in the side reminded him of the other body standing next to him.

Shoving himself quickly to his feet, Vanitas turned and lashed out. Whoever was hurting him would pay. But before he could finish his thought, Vanitas found a large key pointed at his face.

"Ah, you've got some fight in you now."

Vanitas paused is his attack. He knew he couldn't fight without a weapon when the other person had one, but a quick glance around the surrounding area showed nothing but sand.

"The Keyblade, boy. Summon your Keyblade."

Keyblade? As his anger diminished, Vanitas found the world becoming blurrier. He shook his head, trying to focus, but the anger was gone, and so was his vision.

He heard the man sigh and say something before he felt pain explode in the back of his head and everything went dark.

* * *

When Vanitas woke up, he was greeted with the sight of bare walls surrounding an empty room. He noticed that the sun was up and that he still had a helmet on, but his thoughts didn't go much farther, and he was content to simply stare at the blurs of walls and think of nothing. A sharp knock on the door did nothing more than make him look over at the same man he had seen before.

"Vanitas."

Vanitas recognized that as his name, and something he should respond to, so he sat up. "Yes?" He quickly noticed that the man brought unpleasant feelings with him, and as Vanitas felt anger stir in his stomach again, he realized that the world was beginning to appear sharper again.

"You will refer to me as Master Xehanort."

"Yes, Master."

That seemed to please Xehanort, who motioned for the boy to follow and walked out of the room. Vanitas hesitated at first, but once he realized that the world was becoming more out of focus the longer he was away from his "master", he jumped up and hurried after the man.

Xehanort was speaking about some sort of training when Vanitas caught up. The sight of him brought back that feeling of anger, and Vanitas spent his time split between examining his crystal clear surroundings and listening to whatever the man was saying whenever the feeling of anger began to diminish and the world began to blur. Vanitas found his eyes drawn to the shadows, where he could have sworn he saw eyes peering at the two figures, and bodies dashing to and fro.

Forgetting Xehanort, Vanitas focused on the moving shapes and noticed, with a distant spark of fascination, that as his anger morphed into curiosity, the shapes changed. How interesting. He returned his attention to his "master" and watched the shadows become sharper and more angular with the feeling of anger.

"Boy! Focus."

The shadows jumped. It almost looked as if they wished to lash out at the older man. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Vanitas wondered if a shadow could do any damage.

"Sorry, Master."

"You will never learn how to fight if you do not listen."

_Fight,_ he thought with excitement. The shadows seemed to thin at the word, while others danced in anticipation. _No_, Vanitas panicked. _Come back._ He happily noticed that the shadows did return upon his call, but had ceased to keep the same form as the other, happier shadows. Strange…

"Now, summon the Keyblade."

Vanitas' pride refused to ask just how he was supposed to summon the giant key he had seen the other day. At least, he assumed that's what the Keyblade was. Not that he'd ask that, either.

So instead of giving into his uncertainty, he put up a false bravado and replied, "Maybe I don't want to."

A sinister smirk crossed Xehanort's face. "Then you will fight without a weapon." He lunged forward, and Vanitas was forced to backpedal in order to avoid it. But Xehanort didn't stop, or even pause, in his attack; he just kept jumping and swinging and kicking out whenever Vanitas got close enough to strike back. Eventually, to his dismay, Vanitas found himself crouching up against a wall with no way out.

"Ready to summon your Keyblade now, boy?"

Vanitas shook his head. There was no way he was going to sink even lower than he already had if he could help it. "I don't need it."

"I'll rid you of your cockiness." Xehanort raised his arm up, readying the final blow.

_No! I don't even know what you want me to do. Stop!_

Vanitas covered his head with his arms, waiting for the pain to start from the attack, but it never came. He opened his eyes cautiously, expecting the worst. He wasn't prepared to come face-to-face with the shadows he had been looking at all morning. They seemed to be forming a semi-circle around him, almost as if they were trying to protect him. Vanitas noted that despite the fact that he no longer felt scared and panicked—now, he only felt curiosity—the shadows were sticking to their forms, and not once flickering to match Vanitas.

"Oh? And what are these?" He sent away the Keyblade in favor of kneeling down to get a closer look at the creatures. One of his hands extended to touch one of them, but it hissed and jumped away, choosing instead to stand by Vanitas and encircle him protectively.

Vanitas didn't answer, instead placing his hand atop the creature's head and deciding that his silence was as good of an answer as any.

Xehanort nodded to himself and stood up. "This has just gotten much more interesting." He turned on his heel and strode down the hallway. "Come, boy. We have much to discuss."

Casting one final glance at the few friends he had somehow managed to make in just a few seconds, Vanitas sighed and stood up. As his steps drew him further away from the creatures, he watched sadly as they seemed to turn to smoke and vanish into thin air.

* * *

Vanitas stood defiantly with his arms crossed. "No," he repeated again for what must have been the twentieth time.

An annoyed look crossed over Xehanort's face. "This is no time for your childish games. Do as I say."

How sharp everything looked when he was swimming in anger. And the annoyance with the repeated order only added colors he had never seen before to every shape he saw. "I don't think I will." There was no way he was relinquishing his hold on the only form of power he had.

"Boy, if you do not—"

"My name is not '_boy_'_._"

"I will call you what I please."

The anger only became stronger, and, with it, an almost surrealistic view of everything. The colors were bright, the sounds were sharp, and his vision was better than ever before.

"Then you will receive nothing from me."

Xehanort summoned his Keyblade again. "Then I will make you summon them."

Vanitas noticed the shadows stirring at the anticipation of the fight, but he pushed them away. _No_, he thought angrily. _Stay away. I don't need you._ They began to disappear, albeit reluctantly. "You can try."

Xehanort lashed out, but Vanitas was ready, and with his heightened senses, he was able to easily dodge the attacks with little trouble. "You can't even touch me," he said, after a few minutes of the one-sided fighting.

Xehanort paused in his attacks and seemed to consider his apprentice's words. "Maybe I can't. But just because you refuse to use your friends does not mean I will not use mine."

_Friends?_ Vanitas watched in fascination as shadows appeared across the room. They were different from his allies. Whereas Xehanort's shadows were solid black, his had been varying colors. They also acted differently, Vanitas noticed. His shadows seemed to always be aware of what their goal was when he saw them, but these creatures seemed to be moving about randomly, without any idea of what their purpose was.

Xehanort pointed at him with his Keyblade. "Attack."

The creatures seemed to focus at the command, and they all turned towards the figure on the other side of the room.

"Think you can handle the Heartless?"

Vanitas didn't know what a "heartless" was, only that they definitely weren't as friendly as the creatures he had summoned. His anger began to diminish, replaced with a mild feeling of uncertainty, but as the world began to loose its sharp angles and vibrant colors, he pushed down his cowardliness and focused on the anger. He had to be on top of his game if he was going to get out of this.

He jumped back as one of the Heartless got too close and swiped at him, but he ended up backing into another one that had somehow gotten behind him. Vanitas barely managed to put up his arms before it clawed at him. For a moment he was overwhelmed with the blinding pain in his hypersensitive state, and by the time it faded, the rest of the Heartless had gotten him surrounded.

"How pathetic. You can't even fight off two of them."

_I am not pathetic,_ Vanitas thought back bitterly, before he was blinded again by another attack.

"You're weak. Just give in and summon your friends."

"Never."

Two Heartless jumped in on the attack, and Vanitas was knocked to the floor. Claws scraped against his helmet, leaving behind a trail of scratches. _Stop._ The shadows were dancing with a desire to help, but Vanitas pushed them away; there was no way he was submitting to Xehanort now.

"Fight."

_What do you think I'm trying to do?_ Fury welled up inside him at the thought. _I am pathetic. I am weak._ One of his shadows appeared across the room for a moment before Vanitas sent it away._ I can't even fight myself._

The Heartless weren't stopping in their attacks. He tried kicking out, but the shadow just dodged the desperate attack and instead opted for clawing at his leg.

_Stop._

He needed some sort of weapon. Anything he could fight with. Vanitas knew without a doubt that he would have no hope of surviving if he didn't fight back; all he needed was a weapon. The shadows were swimming around him, offering to help, but Vanitas knew he couldn't fight forever just using backup. One of the shadows seemed to tug on his arm, as if asking Vanitas to choose it. He immediately rejected the idea, but it kept pulling. Something about this shadow was different from the others. It didn't shift with emotions, it didn't ask to fight; it just asked to help. One of the Heartless leaped, aiming for his face, and in desperation, Vanitas held out his hands, accepting the shadow's help in hopes that it would protect him.

The room filled with a blinding flash, and Vanitas found himself holding a key. _The Keyblade?_ He watched in fascination as the Heartless shrunk away from the weapon for a moment before redoubling their attempts to defeat him. Vanitas lashed out with his newly found weapon, and was pleased to see that the creature vanished into thin air when his Keyblade hit its mark.

As the last of the Heartless were defeated, the sound of clapping filled the air.

"Well, it looks like I might have some use of you yet," Xehanort applauded mockingly.

The burning resentment was overwhelming, and Vanitas didn't even try to hold back as he summoned his shadows. Only, instead of it being in the form of several smaller ones, Vanitas found himself staring up at one behemoth. He blinked. Had_ he_ summoned that?

Xehanort looked just as surprised as he did—even if only for a moment—before his look of shock faded into a smirk. "My turn, I see. Very well." He called his Keyblade and attacked.

Vanitas wasn't able to focus on the battle for long, however, because the world was growing fuzzy again. As a fleeting thought, Vanitas wondered if he had placed all of his anger into the monster before him. With each blow the creature took, the anger Vanitas felt became less and less, until it was almost nonexistent. Finally, it couldn't fight anymore, the Keyblade struck the final blow, and Vanitas found himself sitting on the floor, staring blankly at where the creature had stood.

"Very interesting indeed."

Vanitas didn't answer.

* * *

_Unversed, _Vanitas thought bitterly. _Weak. Inexperienced._ _That's what Xehanort called my allies. He thinks they're worthless._ Vanitas searched for the shadow that had helped him earlier, and summoned the Keyblade when he found it. He stood and swung randomly, hoping to relieve some of the resentment, despite the fact that everything was in focus around him. _They're not weak._ He summoned one in his anger.

"Fight," he commanded it, but it had already begun to attack as soon as it appeared. Vanitas smirked. He didn't even need to tell them what to do. _Not like Xehanort and his stupid Heartless._ Vanitas struck out and hit the shadow across the head. It stumbled back for a moment before leaping back into the fight. _Good._ This time when Vanitas attacked, the creature ducked underneath the Keyblade and hit back. _Yes. Keep learning._ The Unversed was already on top of him before he could attack it a third time. _Now we're getting somewhere._

The two continued to trade blows before Vanitas finally managed to defeat it. He sat back down contently. Maybe, just maybe, they could both get stronger together. He smiled and summoned another Unversed. It had a different appearance from the last one, but Vanitas guessed that was because he wasn't angry anymore. And yet, the world was still clear—maybe not as sharp as it was with anger, but sharp nonetheless. The Unversed attacked, and Vanitas countered. Oh, yes. He could get used to this.

* * *

"_That's_ Ventus?"

The boy in question was fighting with what appeared to be a wooden Keyblade. His attacks were weak and his aim was nothing to be proud of, but despite that, Vanitas noticed, the two older people he was fighting with were smiling all the same. Why would they be smiling at such a pitiful sight? Perhaps they were laughing at his sad attempts at fighting.

"What do you think of him?"

Vanitas considered his words carefully. "He could definitely use some improvement," he said slowly.

Xehanort nodded.

"Was…was I that weak?" Vanitas hated how uncertain his voice sounded. There was no confidence in it at all. He sounded pathetic.

"You have improved much."

Vanitas quietly noted that the man hadn't actually answered his question, but he knew better than to question his "master". He decided his attention would probably be better spent observing his "other half" instead. Although, that was easier said than done.

To his annoyance, Vanitas noticed that if he focused on the boy—Ventus—for too long, that the bothersome fog he never seemed to be rid of would show up and cloud his thoughts. So every few minutes Vanitas would turn to one of the other two keybarers and regroup his anger to push the apathy-inducing fog away. Vanitas didn't understand why he seemed to be unable to look at the blonde boy for very long, but he guessed it had something to do with the fact that Ventus was the other half of his heart—the will that had been taken from him.

Not that he would ever ask, but Vanitas figured that when Master Xehanort had split the two of them, he had only selected traits of a good warrior to create his apprentice. And, it would seem, that they were anger—or any form of negative emotion—as fuel to fight, and a desire to come out on top. Nothing else mattered—at least to Xehanort—so he had gotten nothing else. Ventus was everything Xehanort viewed as weak: compassionate, happy, surrounded by caring friends, and no drive to fight. Looking at him now, Vanitas figured that those attributes were definitely looking weak in comparison to his own skill set. It was disappointing, but Xehanort said he had a plan to make the two of them stronger so that they could merge and form some all-powerful Keyblade.

"Why are we here?"

"You are here to observe and learn what makes a good warrior. Look at his strengths, his weaknesses. Eventually you will be fighting him, both to show how strong you are, and to make him grow, as well. See how he attacks and how he defends. Exploit his flaws and make him learn to be stronger."

Out on the battlefield, Ventus didn't bring his arm up fast enough to block the man's attack, and he ended up on the ground, looking disappointed.

Vanitas smirked. He would enjoy making his weaker half see just how powerless he was. Unfortunately, Xehanort had told him, they _both_ needed to be strong in order to form the Keyblade from the legends. Vanitas knew he would not take pleasure in helping the runt grow and develop better fighting techniques, but, if it had to be done to become more powerful, then Vanitas would do it.

The man—Terra, Xehanort had called him—held out his hand to Ventus, who smiled up at his friend and allowed the man to help him up. The girl—Aqua—walked over and smiled at the blonde while patting his back. Vanitas didn't understand why they were encouraging his horrible fighting techniques; it wasn't like Ventus would be winning any battles soon with the fighting stance he held currently.

The anger Vanitas had already been feeling only burned stronger. _The fools_, he thought. _They're teaching that failure is acceptable._ It would be a pleasure to beat them all in the future. He would never have accepted the help up if he were in Ventus' place. Only the weak and helpless accepted assistance. He, Vanitas, was not weak. The shadow began to swim around him; the Unversed's eyes dark with resentment and hatred. Vanitas knew it longed to rid itself of the person causing their unhappiness.

Vanitas shook his head to clear it of the pointless thoughts. He needed to stop thinking of Ventus; no good was coming from it but anger that he could do nothing with. He would save his anger for when he really needed it—in a fight.

"I'm tired of watching this pointless mock battle."

Xehanort nodded and began the walk back. Vanitas followed, ignoring the new set of eyes that had begun to observe him when he gazed upon his other half.

* * *

"I think it is time we set our plan in motion."

Vanitas nodded. "Should I release the Unversed?"

"Not yet. Let Terra go off in search of me before raising the alarm. Once you have spoken to Ventus, you may send the Unversed out on their mission."

The shadows danced in anticipation for what was to come. Although Vanitas wasn't exactly looking forwards to confronting Ventus, he knew it was necessary if they were going to get the weaker boy strong enough to form the χ-blade. Vanitas figured he could swallow his pride this once for the greater good.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. As soon as Vanitas entered Ventus' room, he was sent into a battle against the fog in his mind. Without the distraction of others in the room, Vanitas had no choice but to focus on his other half. He somehow managed to keep his cool, collected air while taunting the blonde, but he was having trouble remembering what he was supposed to say, and why he needed to say it. But regardless, whatever he had said seemed to work, which was all that Vanitas cared about. Thankfully, as soon as Vanitas left the room, the fog began to dissipate, and he was able to recall his anger and resentment for his next mission.

After stepping through his portal, Vanitas found himself in a forest with small men running around. He called the shadows out and watched as they began to form into shapes. As the number of Unversed grew, Vanitas felt the fog begin to cloud his head. He managed to stop summoning his allies just before he completely forgot his purpose, but he still had to rest for a moment to call upon more anger and negative emotions.

While he waited, he watched as his Unversed began to wreak havoc around the surrounding trees. Anger, he noticed, loved to destroy everything, while Fear simply cowered in the background until it was forced to fight, when it lashed out and packed quite a punch. He still hadn't figured out the new emotion that had appeared that one-day when he had observed Ventus, but Vanitas knew that it never went down easily. When he had called upon it after returning to his room that day to train the newly found Unversed, it had attacked him before he could even summon his Keyblade. No matter how many blows it took, the Unversed never seemed to slow in its relentless attacks. It had nearly destroyed the room before Vanitas managed to defeat it, and Master Xehanort had not been very understanding when he had tried to explain.

Looking at the mysterious Unversed now, Vanitas realized that it wasn't running around like the others were. Instead, it was sulking about, stealing items from the forest animals, and lashing out at any creature—animal or Unversed—that drew too close. Vanitas couldn't figure out what emotion it might be, but he knew he had obviously felt this way when he saw Ventus and his friends. But Vanitas had no desire to psychoanalyze himself and his relationships with others at the moment; he had to keep moving and infect the other worlds with his Unversed.

Standing, Vanitas summoned another portal and pushed the thought from his head. As long as he and his Unversed made Ventus stronger, it didn't matter what he thought about the pathetic blonde. He was better than his other half. That was all that mattered.

* * *

Aqua, Vanitas learned, was a formidable fighter—at least, compared to poor Ventus—and it was always good to have a backup plan. Vanitas hadn't expected much when he challenged the runt, but it was still disappointing to see just how pathetic his other half's fighting skills were. Honestly, were Eraqus' standards that low? Apparently for Ventus they were. _Luckily_, Vanitas thought smugly, _he has me to shape him up. I'll make a warrior of him yet._

Of course, maybe he hadn't really given the poor boy a chance when he had initiated the battle, because as soon as the mouse showed up, it seemed like Ventus was able to hold his own fairly well. It did seem like the boy and mouse were fairly evenly matched, even if the mouse was doing more showy flips than Ventus. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable battle, and Vanitas figured Ventus must have learned at least _some_ good fighting techniques from it. Eventually, the boy would need to learn to stop relying on others, but for now Vanitas would accept the battle as a victory for Ventus. Next time, however, he would not be so lenient.

The battle was still very draining on Vanitas, though. And while Ventus was the cause of it, Vanitas knew that the boy would never be able to guess that the blows he was dealing weren't physical at all. Although the boy did get a few hits in, the majority of the battle was fought mentally—though Ventus couldn't have realized that he could bring about a terrible fog.

From the start of the battle, Vanitas was forced to spend half of the time keeping the Unversed from intervening. Unfortunately, it was the Unversed that Vanitas still hadn't figured out yet—the one that loved to fight so much—so it wasn't easily shoved away. Most of the blows Ventus managed to give him were due to the masked boy's distraction and a need to focus all of his attention on keeping the fight fair. He knew that if he let this Unversed loose on the poor boy too soon, there would be no hope for him to win, and the χ-blade would never be formed. Eventually, Vanitas did plan on letting loose the wild creature, but for now, Ventus needed to become much stronger. Vanitas would be sure to test Aqua first, just to make sure they were capable of defeating it. He couldn't just assume they were all as strong as he was, now could he?

But alas, the fight finally drew to a close, and Vanitas was forced to continue on his way—he should probably restock the worlds with his Unversed anyway, what with the rate the Keyblade wielders were wiping them out. It seemed that Ventus might be some use for he and Master Xehanort yet. Vanitas smirked; knowing no one else could see it. Only time would tell.

* * *

"You've done well, apprentice."

Vanitas didn't answer. _Of course I've done well._ He summoned another Unversed and continued training. He was able to beat that mysterious feeling much easier, now. It was still a challenge, but the time it took to defeat it was less and less with every try. He'd be sending this one out soon.

Xehanort watched the fight with a glint in his eye—Vanitas didn't want to know what he was thinking. "I see you've gotten stronger."

Still, Vanitas kept his mouth shut and continued fighting. This time he managed to defeat the Unversed in under a minute, so he summoned two instead of just one.

"Has Ventus fought that one yet?"

"No." Another hit; another dodge.

"Let's introduce them, then, shall we?"

Vanitas defeated the last of his Unversed and paused to look at the man. "Is he ready?"

"He'll have to be."

Vanitas smiled.

"Yes, Master."

* * *

As it turned out, Ventus most certainly _was_ ready. The battle was over almost _too_ quickly, Vanitas thought. That was strange, where would he have gotten that power? Had he been fighting the Unversed _that much_?

_Hmm,_ Vanitas thought. _Maybe he _is_ strong enough to form the_ _χ-__blade. I'll have to let Master Xehanort know._

But he still had to make sure. There was no point in testing the boy before he was ready. Besides, a little extra training would do them some good. So Vanitas sent out more of his Unversed, wave after wave, only pausing when the world began to get too fuzzy.

Ventus beat them all. His attacks were strong and quick, and his blocks were timed perfectly. Not once did he struggle with the seemingly endless battle. Even his magic was powerful, Vanitas noted.

Finally, when he began to tire of watching his other half fight, Vanitas stopped summoning his allies—he'd just witnessed Ventus defeat five of his most powerful Unversed in the same round; that was enough proof for him.

Vanitas smirked and summoned a portal. _Congratulations, Ventus,_ he thought. _But the battle has only just begun._

* * *

Xehanort was pleased when Vanitas told him the news. "Excellent. Then we will continue to the next part of our plan. I will summon Terra, and you will bring Ventus."

Vanitas nodded. Now came the exciting part, and he watched with mild fascination as the Unversed danced in the shadows at the thought of the upcoming battle. They would have their fair part in this final battle; he would make sure of it.

He summoned a portal and went off in search of the blonde. It didn't take very long to find him, and goading Ventus to follow him was even easier. Now all he had to do was summon some of his most powerful Unversed—his most negative emotions—so Ventus could get in some last minute training and power, and then everything would be ready.

The χ-blade could be formed at last.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Keyblade bearers to show up; even Aqua decided to join in the fight—Xehanort had figured out a plan for her just incase she had decided to show. Now it was time for the best part: wiping out the competition. He and Master Xehanort managed to get the three separated, and, with Ventus frozen and Aqua occupied with Braig, Vanitas was able to keep Terra distracted while he and Xehanort fought. Fighting the man was even easier than he had expected, and Vanitas was disappointed that the person his "master" seemed to fond of was actually just a big pushover.

Aqua was even easier to defeat. It seemed that without Vanitas training her anymore, she had fallen apart, and had lost all of her fighting ability. It was disappointing, but Vanitas was just pleased that he had chosen to stick with Ventus instead of switching targets.

Ventus tried to fight, but, despite the fact that he actually won, his cause was still pointless. All the battle did was prepare Ventus even more for the χ-blade, which just made Vanitas' task even easier.

Vanitas managed to summon his Unversed to hold down the boy, and as he explained what their plan had been all along, he reveled in the fear Ventus radiated. It was delicious, and Vanitas was saddened that he couldn't bask in it more. But he knew this was the moment he and Master Xehanort had been planning for, for months, and Vanitas felt they had dragged it out long enough. So he sent away his Unversed and merged with his other half.

As their hearts touched, Vanitas watched in wonder as the world exploded into color.

* * *

Vanitas had never felt anything like it; everything was sharper than ever before, the colors were vibrant, and every sound was clear as a bell. It was better than any anger or fury Vanitas had ever been able to summon up, and, he noted happily, he even held the χ-blade in his hand. Perfect.

That feeling of emptiness was everywhere, and Vanitas reveled in the fact that it didn't seem to be affecting him like it had before. It seemed to be affecting Ventus, though, if his look of discomfort was anything to go off of.

Just looking at the boy brought up that old feeling of anger that Vanitas was so accustomed to feeling. And, like it always had, that mysterious emotion he had never figured out appeared as well—Vanitas still hadn't figured out why Ventus was the only one who ever seemed to be able to bring the terrible emotion about. The χ-blade seemed to glow with each new emotion he felt, but the light was quickly lost in the darkness that surrounded the two of them.

The sight of the darkness was comforting, because Vanitas knew that even if his Unversed weren't there in person, they still lurked in the surrounding blackness, waiting to lend their energy to their leader if he needed it. Ventus, on the other hand, did not look as confident, and was sweeping his eyes over the vast expanse of darkness.

"It's so empty," he murmured quietly.

This was just too perfect. Vanitas knew he had the home-field advantage, and, at this point, he would use any advantage he would get—fair or not; he knew Ventus had trained enough to face the full wrath of his other, negative half.

"Welcome to my heart," Vanitas replied just as quietly, and he noticed, to his excitement, that even his voice seemed to frighten Ventus.

Being the "hero" that he was, Ventus ranted on about how he would put a stop to Vanitas and how Xehanort would never win. Vanitas took pity on him and allowed the boy to vent about how terrible and evil the darkness was. _How sad_, Vanitas thought. _He still hasn't realized that we've already won._ Vanitas knew the fight would be easy, seeing as how he had the χ-blade in his hands now, but obviously Ventus didn't seem to realize just how powerful his other half was, because he kept stating that he would beat Vanitas and stop Xehanort.

"You'll lose your heart," Vanitas said, trying to help Ventus realize how hopeless the situation was for him.

"It doesn't matter," Ventus replied.

_Idiot_.

Vanitas didn't know how else to convince Ventus that his cause was hopeless, so he just readied himself for battle. Ventus, it seemed, needed no other cue, and quickly jumped into the fight.

Without having to push away the fog, fighting Ventus was much easier, and Vanitas made sure that he quickly learned just how powerful his other half was. Ventus had wanted a fight, and he was going to get one. The shadows watched, lending their power when Ventus got in a good blow, and offering encouragement—not that Vanitas needed it; he knew he would win. But even with the additional support and the help of the χ-blade, Ventus still managed to put up a very powerful fight. His attacks almost never missed, and he managed to block a large portion of the χ-blade's blows—not that it made the ones that_ did_ hit any less powerful. Luckily, all of his summons were useless, seeing as how they were fighting inside their own minds, where no one else could intervene.

Periodically, the Unversed would whisper to Vanitas how their battle against Aqua was going. Seeing as how the Unversed had been trained to fight the Keyblade already and how they were able to fight using his skill set, Vanitas figured that the Unversed could easily handle Aqua, being as weak as she was. Vanitas knew he was much stronger than both Ventus _and _Aqua, so fighting them both should be no problem.

But it seemed, at some point, Aqua managed to get in a good strike at the same time as Ventus' blow. And, without either Vanitas or the Unversed being able to hold off the attacks while the other side recovered, both sides were severely weakened. The damage only increased due to them repeatedly getting hit while they stumbled.

And while both sides were recovering, Aqua and Ventus managed to pair up again and strike another fatal blow. Vanitas could do little more than block feebly as he watched the fog creep closer.

_No_, he thought desperately. _I'm not succumbing to the emptiness._ He launched strike after strike, but in his desperation, most of his devastating attacks missed. Ventus seemed to realize he was gaining the upper hand, because he redoubled his attacks and put all of what little energy he had left behind them. In his weakened state, Vanitas had no hope of holding Ventus back, and he was quickly defeated.

As the final blow struck, Vanitas could only watch in horror as the world shattered around him. The shadows began to brighten, and the fog that had been held away by the χ-blade was upon him immediately. While the ground crumbled away, leaving the two of them suspended in the air, the χ-blade slipped from his fingers, and what little protection Vanitas had had from the fog was gone. He reached out desperately to grab onto his shield, but the fog was quicker, and Vanitas quickly forgot why he needed the Keyblade.

Vanitas caught one final glance at Ventus, who was floating next to him. He looked calm, peaceful even, and he was smiling.

_Hmm,_ Vanitas thought to himself. _I wonder what he's so happy about._

The fog was overwhelmingly thick, now, and it seemed that the Unversed had vanished from the shadows. It was much too bright for Vanitas' liking, not that he minded, though.

_Maybe…I could be happy, too._


End file.
